This new year is the 150th anniversary of the end of the fighting between the armed forces of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America. May it also be the end of the ongoing mendacious attacks on the honored heritage and history of the men who carried that fight for the Southern cause.
May this be the year when the national media recognizes that the War Between the States was about the cultural, political, economic and Constitutional differences that had evolved from the shared national experience and not about the single issue of slavery in the Southern region.
May this be the year when the full truth about slavery as the "American Sin" and not the "Southern Sin", be fully understood. May Americans learn that slavery was financed in the North, controlled by the Northern slave traders, and that the profits from the trade and from the cotton went mainly to the North.
May this be the year when the divisive demagoguery of "political correctness" is exposed as the idiocy that it is and becomes a thing of the past,remembered only as a sad and silly period when decisions were made by an odd and distorted view of relationships, sensibilities, and common sense. May it be the year when people go back to making decisions based on the admonitions of our great religious teachings, and not on appeals to victimhood or prejudice. May this be the year when we begin to judge people by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
May this be the year when the 70 million American descendants of those who fought for the Confederacy proudly stand up and be counted. May our voices be heard in such numbers that it will turn the tide of hatred and ignorance that comes daily against us.
May this be the year when those bigots who use the beloved symbols of our courageous ancestors to spread a gospel of racial hatred and superiority be exposed as the fools they are. May this be the year when the flags of our forefathers once again stand for that which is the best within us, rather than the worst.
May this be the year when we counter-attack the demagogues who wish to destroy every vestige of our Confederate heritage. May this be the year when our statues, monuments and gravestones are not attacked by vandals of every stripe, and when our flags fly more than ever in places of deserved honor.
May this be the year when every member of our brotherhood becomes more involved as spokesmen for the Cause, and when all of us do something of active service every day to carry a positive message about our ancestry.
May this be the year when the national media stops portraying our ancestors as "traitors" and portraying us as "Nazis", "white supremacists" and "racists". May this be the year when they recognize their own sanctimonious posturing and when they realize the stupidity of anyone assuming a moral superiority in matters of the heart.
May this be the year when our national leaders transcend the weary, mean-spirited and divisive politics of yesterday and break through to policies that bring Americans together in mutual respect and purpose.
May this be the year when we Sons of Confederate Veterans lead a victorious struggle for an honest modern understanding of the extraordinary and exemplary courage of our honored and beloved ancestors. May this be the year when we stand fearlessly together against the orchestrated smear campaign of those who would "culturally cleanse" the nation of any positive thought of our forefathers.
May this be the year when our membership puts aside our petty differences and our personal ambitions and solidly unite for a higher and more important cause.
May this be the year when we Sons of Confederate Veterans restore the good name of Robert E. Lee and the million men who left home and hearth to follow him. May our nation realize that the men of the Confederacy were thoroughly American, and that they were of many ancestries and races and creeds, and that they did what they did in their time because their forefathers had done the same.
And above all, may this be the year when a Loving Creator guides all of us in every moment as we face the challenges of protecting our heritage while building our future. May the Great Healer intervene in the hearts and souls of all of us, and bring to closure the ancient wounds of our Nation's past.
Ben Jones
Chief of Heritage Operations
